Calvin Klein Jeans Fall 2019 Ad Campaign Promotes Sexy | Saitex Sustainability Update

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Calvin Klein Jeans Fall 2019 Ad Campaign Promotes Sexy | Saitex Sustainability Update

Theo Wenner captures Calvin Klein Jeans Fall 2019 campaign, styled by Melanie Ward. Models Abby Champion, Aqua Parios, Ben Allen, Iris Law, Lexi Boling and Selena Forrest front the campaign with creative direction by Cedric Murac./ Hair by Holli Smith

As promised, AOC takes a temperature check on denim production sustainability initiatives at Calvin Klein Jeans, a practice that we’re employing regularly for all the major brands that we feature. Fashionista visited Saitex, an innovative, sustainability-focused factory that produces denim for both Calvin Klein Jeans and Tommy Hilfiger — owned by PVH. We don’t know the percentage of Calvin Klein Jeans produced by Saitex, nor whether the sustainable jeans currently being promoted by Calvin are a significant portion of their total inventory. We do know that PVH takes the topic of sustainability very seriously, having opened a denim sustainability lab. (See article end of this one.)

Located in Vietnam, Saitex is “the denim partner of choice for a host of ethical labels including Everlane, Eileen Fisher and G-Star Raw. Saitex also produces for American Eagle, Gap, J Crew, Madewell, Ralph Lauren, Outerknown and more.

Saitex founder Sanjeev Bahl is actually featured on the Madewell website, as part of their transparency initiative.

Bella Hadid + Abby and Alanna Move Into CK Performance Campaign by Charlotte Wales

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Bella Hadid + Abby + Alanna Get a Move On In CK Performance Campaign by Charlotte Wales

Bella Hadid is in motion this fall, headlining Calvin Klein’s CK’s Performance campaign. Models Alanna Arrington and Abby Champion join Bella, along with Michell Slaggert in emphasizing athletic prowess earned by wearing the hyper-modern, undefined criteria, performance essentials. Calvin Klein partners with The Better Cotton Initiative to improve cotton farming globally.

Irina Shayk Fronts Calvin Klein Fall 2019 Handbags, Lensed by Inez & Vinoodh

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Irina Shayk Fronts Calvin Klein Fall 2019 Handbags, Lensed by Inez & Vinoodh

Top model Irina Shayk fronts Calvin Klein’s fall 2019 handbag campaign, an upscale visual mantra on Calvin Klein women being at their best wearing no clothes. Calvin Klein women’s ready-to-wear is absent from New York Fashion Week Spring 2020 shows, which officially opens today. But the Calvin name is alive in fall ad campaigns with big-name models and photographers.

Inez & Vinoodh are behind the lens, flashing Shayk promoting CK’s Lock design bag, with styling by Tonne Goodman. / Hair by Christiaan; makeup by Fulvia Farolfi

Raf Simons Leaves Calvin Klein | Brand Won't Show During New York Fashion Week

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Raf Simons Leaves Calvin Klein | Brand Won't Show During New York Fashion Week

On Friday the Belgian designer Raf Simons and Calvin Klein announced that they were parting ways amicably eight months before his contact was up for renewal. Calvin Klein will not show during New York fashion week.

Willy Vanderperre Captures CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC FW2018 New World Democracy

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Willy Vanderperre Captures CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC FW2018 New World Democracy

To promote the Fall Winter 2018 CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC runway collection, Chief Creative Officer Raf Simons released an otherworldly session with regular collaborator Willy Vanderperre, who created futuristic images starring Lulu Tenney, Julia Nobis, Freja Beha, Liya Kebede, Erin O’Connor, Fernando Albaladejo, and Luca Lemaire. Olivier Rizzo styled the innovative shoot captured in Utah.

In talking about the Fall 2018 collection, Raf Simons, Chief Creative Officer for CALVIN KLEIN, described it as an "allegory for a meeting of old worlds and new worlds, relating to the discovery of America, the 1960s Space Race, and the twenty-first century information age. Reflecting the notion of democracy, there is no cultural hierarchy: the mixes emancipate clothing and references from their meanings, from their own narratives, and collage them to discover something different – a different dream.”

Lupita Nyong'o & Saoirse Ronan Launch CALVIN KLEIN WOMEN Fragrance | Key Analysts Say It's Game Over For Victoria's Secret

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Lupita Nyong'o & Saoirse Ronan Launch CALVIN KLEIN WOMEN Fragrance | Key Analysts Say It's Game Over For Victoria's Secret

On the face of it, one might not readily connect Calvin Klein choosing top-drawer actors Lupita Nyong'o and Saoirse Ronan to front its new scent Calvin Klein Womenscent and Fast Company running a headline Tuesday titled 'The end of Victoria's Secret: Why analysts and readers say the brand is on its last lace.' 

“It’s game over,” Jeffries analyst Randal Konik told Bloomberg about the world's biggest lingerie brand, pointing to declines in traffic, pricing power, and market share. Konik also said that he thought investors were ignoring these obvious warning signs and choosing to believe Victoria’s Secret is still a great brand.

That's a harsh statement about a great brand, one that I worked for over 10 great years. You know it's time to go, though, when your own vision for what women want are out of sync with the owners'. If there's anything wrong with Victoria's Secret, it's symbolized by the tawdry spectacle that is the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show. Just imagine if VS piled all those beautiful models on an airplane and took them on a supporting women and girls activism tour. Consider that the VS models who have made high-profile departures from the brand -- women like Karlie Kloss and Doutzen Kroes -- are women who embrace activism and justice as part of their DNAs. 

EYE| Raf Simons Unveils American Quilts Collab Of 100 Cassina Feltri Armchairs At Design Miami/Basel 2018

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Calvin Klein Chief Creative Officer Raf Simons unveils the full range of his cohesive design vision with its first installation at Design Miami/Basel. Housed in an authentic American barn, Raf Simons unveils a limited edition collection collaboration by Gaetano Pesce of 100 Cassina Feltri armchairs upholstered in vintage one-of-a-kind American heirloom quilts.

Calvin Klein house codes are applied to each one of the numbered armchair’s interior upholstery featuring quilt’s that date back to the 19th and 20th centuries. armchairs numbered 1 – 50 will be available for purchase at the fair, while the remaining 50 – 100 will be made available for purchase through Cassina at a later date.

Willy Vanderperre Captures CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC S/S 2018, A Very Raf Simon Vision Of America

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Willy Vanderperre Captures CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC S/S 2018, A Very Raf Simon Vision Of America

Fashion photographer Willy Vanderperre is behind the lens for CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC Spring Summer 2018 Collection. Models in the campaign include Sara Grace Wallerstedt, Lexi Boling, Blesnya Minher, Mica Arganaraz, Lulu Tenney, Julia Nobis, Kiki Willems, Ariel Nicholson Murtagh, Alyssa Traoré, andLeila Goldkuhl among many others.

From the press release:

A cinematic new campaign, lensed by photographer Willy Vanderperre. Evocative of the reimagined American codes which Chief Creative Officer Raf Simons has established as his vision for the house, the season’s imagery nods to filmic tensions. American horror is juxtaposed with the mythic American dream, intrigue and mystery with beauty and horror. “They are both a part of life,” says Simons. “This collection is a celebration of that: a celebration of American life.”

More than 20 models are photographed in and around a weathered barn; at once implacable and familiar, it could be found anywhere across the country, from the Heartland plains to California. The cast wear runway looks (including screenprinted styles created as part of a unique, ongoing collaboration with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts), and carry totemic objects created by Simons’ longtime collaborator, artist Sterling Ruby. Also depicted are a selection of the vintage, one-of-a-kind quilts which have become a key motif of CALVIN KLEIN. Together, this visual vocabulary defines the brand’s perspective for a New Americana.

EYE: A Bold Calvin Klein Reboot Goes For American Brand Gold In The Shadow Of Charlotte's White Nationalism

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EYE: A Bold Calvin Klein Reboot Goes For American Brand Gold In The Shadow Of Charlotte's White Nationalism

Without a doubt, this is the most dramatic 180-degree turn in the history of a great luxury brand. Ironically, in deciding to stock a collection of home wares, displayed in the context of Ruby's celebration of the American vintage quilts, Homer Laughlin coffee mugs and Rose Cabat's ceramic "Feelies" sold alongside Calvin Klein bedding, Simons enters Ralph Lauren territory.

Raf Simons assumed creative control of Calvin Klein in 2016, the number of retailers stocking the brand has increased tenfold, as stressed-out retailers strive for enticing relevance in the age of Amazon. It's interesting to watch the evolution of Calvin Klein in the age of Trump.

It's good that people of intelligence and vision are trying to understand America at the very moment America is trying to understand itself. In a country blinded with the golden glow of torches held high by white nationalists in Charlottesville last week, the color of optimism is under assault. Still, an estimated 40,000 people showed up in Boston Saturday to protest white nationalism and the resurgence of a bold racism under Trump. As Trump follows unlimited gold for his family financial coffers, we will follow the future of bold yellow optimism. America is doing much soul-searching at this moment.  ~ Anne